Ärikeele

Ärikeele, also known as the Estonian language, is the official language of Estonia. It is a member of the Finno-Ugric branch of the Uralic language family and is closely related to Finnish. Ärikeele is spoken by approximately 1.1 million people worldwide, with the majority of speakers residing in Estonia. It is also spoken by Estonian communities in other countries, such as Russia, the United States, and Canada.

The Estonian language has a rich literary tradition, with notable works by authors such as Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald, Kristjan Jaak Peterson, and Andrus Kivirähk. Ärikeele is written using the Latin alphabet, which was introduced in the 19th century. The language has a phonetic orthography, meaning that words are spelled as they are pronounced.

Ärikeele has a complex grammar system, with three grammatical genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter) and a rich system of cases. The language has a subject-verb-object (SVO) word order. Ärikeele has a vocabulary that is heavily influenced by German, due to the historical influence of the German language in Estonia. However, the language has also absorbed words from other languages, including Russian, Finnish, and English.

Ärikeele is an official language of the European Union and is recognized as a minority language in several countries. It is also one of the official languages of the United Nations. The Estonian language is taught in schools in Estonia and is widely used in media, literature, and government. Despite its small number of speakers, Ärikeele is a vibrant and living language with a rich cultural heritage.